Assembly Day - Saturday

Saturday was our big assembly day. We anticipated started at 9 am but with a death in the Village it was delayed until noon. The culture of Uganda is when a villager passes away, each family is required to provide the family with a dish of food, money and in times of a drought, the families are then required to provide the deceased family with water. The burial of the deceased will happen tomorrow and the entire village, including us two Muzungu's will attend and pay our respects.

The opening ceremony of the assembly was incredible. Complete with their authentic dancing, music, singing and greetings. Kay and I were surrounded by about 100 Nawantale residents and we must have shaken everyone’s hand at least once. Kay and I were treated with utmost respect and as celebrities – which, in their eyes we were. There were prime seats available for us under the shaded tarp area and a desk (coffee table) placed in front of us. We sat for nearly two hours as the presenters spoke, greeted us and welcomed us. Each person who spoke was very appreciative of us being there and shared that with us and all the individuals who attended the assembly.

One man went so far to say – how and why do you white women care and carry concern with us black people? – To Kay and I, that was a foreign concept. He added, “we are from different animals.” Which at that time, Kay and I looked at each other and said, No…no, we’re not.
Kay had an opportunity to speak and at some point I caught the eye of a little girl adorned in a very bright canary yellow dress with a white collar. She was sitting with her friends and trying not to be caught making eye contact. At some point during Kay’s speech I waved to her and she jumped at the chance to greet me. Slowly walking up to me and kneeling before me with her right hand out to shake mine, she stayed there to pay her respects. She was bright eyed, a bit shy and unsure of what to do next. She joined her friends after greeting me and sported a very large smile that showed off her dimples. Her and her friends laughed and giggled at her opportunity.

The Nawantale choir was adorned with new school uniforms and looked snazzy. They were colorful and consistent in their garb. Drums, xylophones and a shaker of sort was heard for many songs. There was a neighboring village who attended for the soccer match and their choir attended with them. The choir asked to do an impromptu welcoming song for Kay and I. It was beautiful. The first song was in their native language and the second song stole my heart! Approximately an 8 year old, very tiny framed girl started the song and in her clear English, started singing these lyrics:

We are happy to receive you. We shall laugh and we shall smile and we shall never, never forget you.

The assembly continued and after the speakers each had their turn it was time to eat. Four Nawantale villagers have formed a catering company, God is Good, is the name of it. They provided everyone with a large helping of rice, chicken and beef. The portions were huge and there was no way for me to finish the plate that sat before me.

There had been one little boy who caught my eye and stayed nearby me the entire day. In fact, when I finished my bottled water he quickly scurried to the table where I sat it down in front of me and he picked it up. He looked at me as if asking, “is it ok that I take this?” Of course, I didn’t mind – to me, it was merely trash. To him, it was a toy that was once used by the Muzungu who visited him and his village. This same boy sat near me while I was eating and when I was done I graciously handed him a piece of chicken from my plate. Without any words spoken, he cautiously took the piece of chicken from my hand and welcoming it into his. Without any delay he began eating the chicken until all you saw were the bones remaining. This same boy had become my shadow this day – everywhere I turned he was in my presence. There were many other kids that did the same but this little boy in a green tattered shirt and another hue of green shorts remained close by my side.

The guest villages played one another in men’s soccer – the winner of that match would play our Nawantale men’s team who is undefeated. Immediately after this match the Nawantale/Balawoli girls team played one another. This was no simple match. This was a match that the winner would take home a travelling trophy and defend for years to come. The Nawantale girls battled the opponent and won 3-0. I was asked to present the team with their trophy and immediately the villagers cheered. The girls took off with their trophy and did a victory lap around the pitch. This celebration did not stop for approximately 30 minutes.

We started the next men’s match and immediately after Kay awarded the men’s teams with their soccer balls. Each team went home with a new soccer ball and each member of the team received the ball from Kay and shook her hand.

Films have been a great way to introduce issues to the villagers. Sammy took the opportunity to show his digital video from the assembly to the villagers. They were amazed. How could they see something that just happened in the same day?!